Orioles enter state tournament hot, claim third seed over Kilowatts
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SLEEPY EYE - The Leavenworth Orioles will be headed into the Class C Amateur Baseball State Tournament with some momentum after defeating the Granite Falls Kilowatts 6-1 in the third-place game of the Region 2C Amateur Baseball Tournament on Saturday.
“That was a good, clean ball game there,” Leavenworth manager Zach Mickelson said. “We were able to throw some of our younger guys, and they stepped up big there, both pitchers. Momentum is huge coming into the state tournament. We’ve been hitting the ball really well, and pitching’s been going well.
Rogan Scriver, who is headed into his junior year at Minnesota Valley Lutheran, got the win for the Orioles, got the win on the mound, striking out six while allowing one run on four hits in six innings.
Thomas Hesse, who will be a sophomore at Comfrey High School, pitched the remaining three innings, striking out one with no hits allowed. At the plate, Jaden Mickelson was 3 for 5 with an RBI and a run scored, while Mark Anderson was 2 for 3 with an RBI and two runs scored. Jevan Richert and Caden Evers each had a hit and an RBI.
Evers started the scoring with an RBI single in the second inning, then the Orioles made it a 2-0 game in the fourth with another run. A three-run fifth inning by Leavenworth extended the lead further, but Granite Falls scored its only run of the game in the sixth inning. However, the Orioles got that run back in the seventh to set the final score at 6-1.
“It comes down to playing clean baseball,” Zach Mickelson said. “No errors, and when you get into a situation, getting out of it. Throwing strikes and making plays.”
Leavenworth will enter the state tournament as the third seed from Region 2C, while Granite Falls will be the fourth seed. In the Region 2C draft, Leavenworth selected Jack Howard from Sacred Heart, Zach Haala from Stark and Madden Lendt from Springfield. Granite Falls selected Dominic Rose from Gibbon, Adam Sellner from Stark and Neil Eichten from Lamberton.